optio
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Pentax announces Optio S7
It's a Pentax, it's an Optio, it's got a 7 megapixel sensor, face recognition, DivX / MPEG-4 VGA video recording, optical image stabilization, a 2.5-inch display, 23MB memory, 3x optical zoom, SDHC support, and a name: the S7. Nothing we haven't all seen before; another day, another model. This one will happen to run you $300 (or less) come September.
Pentax Optio W10 waterproof digicam reviewed
The Pentax Optio W10, announced in February, may look like a fairly straightforward point-and-shoot, but if you're familiar with the company's product line, you'll recognize this one's secret weapon immediately: it's waterproof. No, not waterproof as in scuba-diving, but waterproof as in, take-it-to-the-beach or take-it-on-your-next-fishing-trip. That's a distinction shared by very few other compact digicams, and could make this a good option for your summer activities. Digital Camera Review checked the camera out, and found it to be well-designed and durable. The lens is protected by a plastic cover, other openings are sealed, and buttons are harder to press thanks to waterproofing. The reviewer was impressed with the image-quality on the 6 megapixel shooter, saying images "showed accurate color and good exposure in a variety of conditions." The main gripes were shutter lag (hey, it's a compact) and an LCD screen that tends to be a little hard to view in bright sunlight. Given that you may be planning to take this one to the beach, and there's no optical viewfinder, that could be a problem, but chances are you'd rather deal with that than risk dropping your SLR in the water.
Pentax Optio A10 8 megapixel shooter reviewed
Digital Camera Review is doing what doing what they do, and have a review up of Pentax's headline Optio, the 8 megapixel A10. Including a 3x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD, and optical image stabilisation, the camera looks to be a decent deal for it's roughly $300-350 asking price, but the low battery life and sub-par default settings might be a turn-off for some. The back of the camera is rather dominated by a 2.5-inch screen, leaving out an optical viewfinder, but probably not much the worse off, thanks to the sharp and accurate LCD. The camera is fairly small, but manages to have decent ergonomics, and easy customization makes it even nicer to use. Unfortunately, you might be using those menus a bit more than hoped, since the default image settings were oversaturated and underexposed. Otherwise the image quality was fairly good, with standard light response and uniform sharpness. Shake reduction worked well, which is a big plus, and while the rechargeable battery wasn't quite up to snuff, you might have a bit of cash left over for a second one at this price.
